Stroke Association

The 50” spot that captured the nation’s attention

Stroke strikes every 5 minutes, yet thankfully more people survive now than ever. Of the UK’s 1.3m stroke survivors, 40% have Aphasia – a communication disorder affecting speech, reading, writing, and comprehension.

We needed to raise awareness and increase understanding of Aphasia, while showing how The Stroke Association helps those with it to rebuild their lives.

What we did

Our strategy was to earn audience attention by attracting them to actively engage with a 50-minute documentary ‘When the Words Away Went’ featuring real-life stories of stroke survivors living with Aphasia.

What we did

Simply hosting it on YouTube or owned websites would present multiple barriers to viewing, so instead, we hosted the doc where people were already watching their favourite TV shows—on their screens.

What we did

In a collaboration only previously accomplished by Nike, we worked with Channel 4 to host the content. We used paid media to drive viewers to a place that felt natural to watch a 50-minute documentary.

What we did

We then promoted the documentary through trailers on Channel 4 and utilised homepage placements, branded HPTO, and display ads to drive viewers to the content.

In a media marketplace where achieving attention is increasingly critical, the results were amazing. Instead of a single 60-second TV spot, our approach provided an immersive experience, deeper engagement and longer viewership, resulting in 14,000 views with a 42% completion rate, equating to £26 per completed view. By extending the impact of the documentary beyond traditional advertising, we also successfully left a lasting impression, increasing brand awareness by 3% vs pre-campaign.

14,000
Views
42%
Completion rate
3%
Increase in brand awareness